Baixa Pombalina

One of Lisbon’s most elegant districts, Baixa Pombalina was built after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake razed most of the city to the ground. It is named after Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, the 1st Marquis of Pombal and Prime Minister of Portugal for twenty seven years, who played a key role in rebuilding the city.

Lesson Learned

The Baixa Pombalina is renowned as one of the first examples of earthquake-resistant urban planning. Not a bad idea, since Lisbon has been hit by a number of severe earthquakes over the centuries. Under the Marquis’s instruction, architectural models were tested by having cohorts of soldiers marching around them to simulate tremors.

Among the innovations introduced were the Pombaline Cage, a symmetrical wood-lattice framework that helps safely distribute the force from tremors through a structure, and walls between terraces that are built higher than the roof timbers, thus reducing the spread of subsequent fires.

A Word of Thanks

Stretching between the Tagus River and Avenida da Liberdade, as well as bordering the Alfama district, the Baixa district is absolutely central to Lisbon life. It is the shopping and banking district of the city, as well as one of its most prized tourist spots.

There are few better places for a walk and a coffee. You can stroll around Commerce Square and Rossio Square, marked by beautiful Rossio Train Station and the Dona Maria II National Theatre, and then pass by Marquis de Pombal Square, for a word of thanks to the man who built this lovely quarter.